Recovery of CD4⁺ CD31⁺ T-cell in patients with lymphoproliferative disorders following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

We have evaluated the dynamics of post-transplant recovery of CD4⁺CD45RA⁺CD31⁺ T cells and CD4⁺CD45RACD31⁺ T-cells in patients with lymphoproliferative diseases after high-dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell transplantation (auto-HSCT). 87 patients were included in the study. The content of circulating CD4⁺СD31⁺ naïve and memory T-cells has been assessed with the use of flow cytometry before auto-HSCT, at the day of engraftment, and in 6 and 12 months. Relative amount of CD4+CD45RACD31+ T-cells in patients was elevated in comparison with healthy controls, restored rapidly following auto-HSCT and reached initially high level at the day of engraftment. Post-transplant mediastinal radiotherapy significantly reduced counts of CD4⁺CD45RA⁺CD31⁺ T-cells and extended recovery period compared to the non-irradiated patient level. Non-thymic tissue irradiation reduced this subset slightly and non-significantly. The study of the recovery of CD4⁺CD45RA⁺CD31⁺ T-cells by virtue of flow cytometry required an accurate gating strategy to exclude CD31⁺ T memory cells.

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